The invention relates to a hose-repair tool for use in assembly and/or disassembly of a hose-coupling element with respect to an end of flexible hose, such as a hose for conduct of liquid or gaseous fluid. My copending application Ser. No. 549,770 discloses one such tool which is virtually unit-handling and which provides exposed wrench flats for ease of operation; the disclosure of said copending application is hereby incorporated by reference.
It often occurs, as in the course of a relatively large-scale construction project, that flexible hose, for the flexible delivery of water, steam, compressed air, or the like, is damaged or broken through careless handling of heavy mobile equipment. Such hoses may have an inside diameter in the order of 2 inches and a wall thickness of 3/8 to 1/2 inch and are of construction suited to the task, as for example elastomeric materials that are reinforced with multiple braided plies of synthetic filaments and steel wire. The hoses are costly, and the same may be said of coupling elements fitted and tightly clamped to the end of each length of hose. When time is important to completion of a project, it frequently occurs that a complete new hose length with its end-coupling fitments will be placed into service, leaving the broken or damaged hose for discard, to be scrapped. This is, of course, a wasteful practice, and it is also wasteful of crew time if one even tries to salvage the end-coupling elements of a damaged hose; this is so, because with prolonged use and exposure, the rubber or other elastomeric of the hose becomes effectively vulcanized and locked to the end-coupling elements, and sledge-hammer and other abusive techniques may be required to reclaim an end fitting. Except for the disclosure in said copending application, I am unaware of any existing tool or technique for quick and damage-free recovery of an end fitting from a damaged hose.